Grown Ups 2: A Crass, Stupid, and Unfunny Sequel
Some time has passed since the events of the last movie, and our old friends are living in their small, cozy town. Lenny (Adam Sandler) is afraid even to think about having a fourth child, but his wife (Salma Hayek) is quite insistent. Eric (Kevin James) doesn’t know how to tell his wife (Maria Bello) that he loves visiting his mother. Kurt (Chris Rock) is happy – his wife (Maya Rudolph) forgot about their anniversary, and now he can guilt-trip her as much as he wants. Marcus (David Spade) learns that he has an 18-year-old son who is coming to visit him for the summer. But for now, school is not yet over – there is one last school day left, which will end with a grand party at Lenny’s house.
The secret to the success of the first “Grown Ups” remains on the conscience of the millions of Americans who gave their hard-earned money to the movie theater box offices. What they saw in this flat, unfunny, and banal comedy is beyond comprehension – if it comes to that, Adam Sandler has much more worthy comedies in his filmography that deserve such success. Sandler should be given credit, upon seeing the $260 million box office gross, he didn’t immediately start churning out a sequel, but honestly tried to make something else – first the quite charming rom-com “Just Go with It,” and then the disastrous “Jack and Jill” and “That’s My Boy,” which were not even accepted by the actor’s fans. There was no way out, so he had to gather the “support group” again for “Grown Ups 2.”
In terms of box office, the calculation turned out to be correct – in the first weekend, the film grossed even more than the first movie, and by the end of its run, it may well reach the achievements of its predecessor. And, fortunately, “Grown Ups 2” is slightly better than the original film – which does not mean that people “off the street” can watch it without preparation. Suffice it to say that the film opens with a scene in which a deer urinates into Adam Sandler’s mouth, and one of the most “impactful” (according to the filmmakers) gags is the heroes’ endless attempts to do a “burp-sneeze-fart,” a rapid series of burping, sneezing, and you know what.
There are not just a lot of toilet jokes in “Grown Ups 2,” but a lot, and many of them are not as harmless as they may seem – especially considering that the film’s age rating is still for children. Surprisingly, there are also a lot of sexual jokes here – Sandler-style, crude, vulgar, and, unfortunately, mostly unfunny. Nevertheless, from about the middle of the film, it turns from completely unbearable to restrainedly funny – if, of course, you can still sit through to this turning point.
Secondary Characters Save the Day
The “fault” for this, as often happens with Sandler, lies with the supporting characters, among whom there are very funny performances – basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and Peter Dante are good as cops-“partygoers,” Taylor Lautner and Milo Ventimiglia are good, with great drive portraying a couple of bully students, Steve Buscemi is clearly “having fun,” who always transforms beyond recognition with Sandler. And jokes from the series “so stupid that it’s funny” do break through from time to time. Just don’t take all this as a recommendation, rather the last word of a defendant sentenced to death.